“It is of the utmost importance that all stakeholders in the NFL community ... recognize and appreciate the importance of the NFL shield.”

Helen Drew, adjunct proressor of law

University at Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Calling the events of the past months some
of the most “ugly off-field incidents” in the history
of the NFL, University at Buffalo Law School professor and sports
law expert Helen A. Drew says nothing short of “swift,
comprehensive and substantial disciplinary measures” are
needed to address the flood of disciplinary issues that have
challenged Commissioner Roger Goodell’s ability to protect
the league’s reputation.

“The NFL and National Football League Players Association
can best protect the NFL brand and ensure its continued success by
instituting swift, comprehensive and substantial disciplinary
measures in conjunction with scrupulous adherence to detailed,
impartial, due process procedures for each alleged incident and any
and all appeals,” writes Drew, an adjunct professor in the UB
Law School.

Her article, published in “The Docket” in the
current issue of the UB Law School’s Buffalo Law Review,
discusses the steady stream of disciplinary cases to punctuate the
2014-15 NFL season, including the domestic violence cases of
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and Arizona Cardinals
running back Jonathan Dwyer. Drew calls the Ray Rice case
“the unlikely kickoff for the nightmare season.”

In the article, Drew tracks the timeline of negative events in
2014, then discusses Goodell’s history regarding player
discipline. She examines the NFL’s revised personal conduct
policy and the NFLPA’s response to the high-profile incidents
of violence among some of the league’s most well-known
players.

Her concluding section — “How to Break the Stalemate
or What Would Disney Do?” — briefly examines how the
Walt Disney Company protects its image and “inculcates a
sense of a shared business culture” among its employees. This
process encourages workers to“buy in” to the Disney
philosophy, protecting the Disney brand. There are important
lessons there that the NFL and NFLPA could learn from, Drew
writes.

She notes that more can be done to develop the NFL community,
which, she says, encompasses not just players, but employees at all
levels.

“Mentoring rookie players is a significant step in the
right direction, but there is no guarantee that the mentor is
positioned to provide the type of guidance that would help protect
the NFL brand.” Drew writes.

“Moreover, it is of the utmost importance that all
stakeholders in the NFL community — league and team
employees, owners and players — recognize and appreciate the
importance of the NFL shield. The astronomical revenue generated by
the NFL is dependent upon the maintenance of that brand.”

Drew has been interviewed and quoted numerous times by local,
national and international media on such topics as paying college
athletes, drug testing, concussions and the 1989 defection of
Buffalo Sabres hockey star Alexander Mogilny from the Russian
national hockey team. She also successfully predicted the Buffalo
Bills would not leave Western New York following the death of team
founder and owner Ralph Wilson.